Butchering Ducks Part 1

We have been blessed this summer with
baby ducklings and they grew really fast, so we decided to have Roast Duck for Christmas.

We will show you the steps to butcher
ducks in this edition of the blog, which will somewhat detail how it is done and we have some pictures
of the process.

Note: These are actual pictures of the process and graphic so you can have a better idea of how it is Really Done, down here on the farm.

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You will need:

A big log to use as a butcher block, or a board etc.

2 nails

Hammer

Hatchet, or machette (sharp)

Exam gloves (if you do not wish to
touch the innards with your bare hands, especially if you have
any cuts or sores.)

A table or work area with a waterproof
surface that can be rinsed with a hose.

Big cutting board

3 x 5 or 6-gallon empty buckets (One for
scrap, one for hot water and one for cold water)

Sharp knives, several, scalpel works
great too.

Tweezers (some of the feathers are so
small and not easy to get out unless you have some of those)

Freezer Paper and tape to wrap the
meat.

Big Pot or several small pots in which
to boil water

NO pressure washer for Ducks.

Metal wire to hang the ducks by their
feet on the fence. If you do not have a fence to hang them on you could just use a table.

Here is how we did it:

First we went into the duck house and
caught the ducks, we decided to butcher. Held gently tucked under the
arm, we said a blessing and gave thanks for its life.

Then we laid its head between the two
nails on the butcher block and chopped the head off with the hatchet.

After that we hung it upside down to
let the blood drain for about 3 minutes.

While we did all that, we had water
boiling on the stove, then dumped it in a 6 gallon bucket.

We carefully held the duck by the feet
and dunked the body into the hot water for about 2 minutes and then
hung it back on the fence.

The next step was plucking the
feathers, which simply means, put on the gloves and start pulling
feathers out of the body. Picked as clean as possible, so when we
roast them we won't have any poky feathers sticking out.

By the way this is more fun, when you
have friends or family helping, since it is a bit tedious work.

More hands make light work.

Pressure Washer Does Not work for Ducks!

What? a pressure washer? you mean like a pressure washer I use for my car and tractor?

Yes, we have had success getting the feathers off Chickens but Ducks are another matter.

Seems the feathers stick in the ducks better that chickens, and we have the pictures to prove it. Wait until you see what happened to the duck.

Can anyone see flying duck parts?

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon.

In the Part 2, we'll show you the Cutting it up process

Grow your
Own?

Why bother?
While there are many reasons to grow your own food or at least source
good food in your local area, we find it very empowering to be able
to care for ourselves without some corporation trying to feed us
unhealthy, poison laden food.

When you
grow your own, you know where it has been and what it has been fed.

Growing
your own has many benefits so please consider it to some degree.